


You Never Know the Way the Ice Thins

by terramous



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Drowning, Hurt TK, Hypothermia, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24563818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terramous/pseuds/terramous
Summary: "I'm not going to die.""Your dad explicitly asked me to keep you out of the hospital while we're here. I don’t think anyone on this earth trusts you enough to not die.""Rude. I'm going to take offense to that."*TK and Carlos go on a trip to New York with intentions of having fun in the winter snow. But TK is a danger magnet and Carlos can't seem to catch a break.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775494
Comments: 9
Kudos: 199
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand, Bad Things Happen Bingo





	You Never Know the Way the Ice Thins

**Author's Note:**

> For the Bad Things Happen Bingo Prompt: Drowning  
> 

“Come on, it’s not that scary!” TK called, carefully placing each foot out onto the ice. It was sturdy beneath him but Carlos’ eyes were still wary. 

It was a holiday for the both of them, to celebrate their one-year anniversary and the engagement of one of TK’s old coworkers. So here they were, just outside of New York, staying in a log cabin for, as TK put it, “the aesthetic.” Carlos, despite being a born and raised Texan who loathed the cold, he was undeniably weak for TK’s puppy eyes, so here they were, surrounded by snow and a biting chill. 

TK would never let him stay in the cabin the entire weekend although Carlos would have preferred to be bundled up in front of their toasty fireplace. 

He loved the snow, even if Carlos didn’t see it as much more than an inconvenience. There was something about the snow, especially the pristine, undisturbed surface of the freshly fallen snow around their cabin. It made him feel like he was in a fantasy novel. 

“It is literally impossible for you to determine how thick that ice is and whether it will even be able to support you, let alone both of us.” 

“Lighten up, Carlos.” As if to prove a point, TK started bouncing on the ice. Surprisingly, the ice remained solid under his feet as he beamed at Carlos. 

Dark eyes framed by a cautious expression, Carlos was wearing absolutely every layer he could possibly plaster onto his body but he was still shivering despite them. His chill-bitten nose was red much like TK imagined his own to be. 

He extended a gloved hand, waving it in a way that implored Carlos to grab it. The officer was reluctant, still firmly standing at the edge of the lake with his hands stubbornly rooted in the pockets of his parka.

“Come on. Just a few steps?” 

“I’ll stay here and watch you. I prefer to stand on solid ground.”

“But it’s not as fun without you. This is supposed to be about you learning to love the snow.”

“I’m fine just watching you.”

“If you don’t come over here you’re homophobic.”

“TK,” Carlos deadpanned, “we’re boyfriends.” 

“Sounds like something a homophobe would say.” 

Carlos heaved a sigh, his breath clouding in front of his face. He could never win. Especially not with TK standing out on the ice, his entire demeanor screaming excited like a kid at the carnival. He’d never admit it, but he was weak to do anything that made TK happy, that brought that bright smile he couldn’t get enough of to TK’s face. 

He took a few cautious steps out onto the ice. 

TK beamed. "There you go! See? It's not that scary."

As he waited for Carlos to come further out onto the ice, TK tried to slide closer to Carlos who looked like a newborn deer on roller skates. Unfortunately, there was no grip between TK's boots and the smooth surface of the ice.

In a moment, TK was on his hands and knees and his face hurt. 

"TK, are you okay?" 

Carlos was a few steps away, TK could tell he wanted to be closer, to check on TK, but wasn’t sure how to move across the ice.

"Yeah," TK huffed, "Got a little ahead of myself, don't worry."

Carlos' eyebrows pinched together as TK raised his head to meet Carlos' gaze. "Your nose is bleeding."

"It's nothing. Combo of it being cold and me completely wiping out thirty seconds ago."

Carlos eyed him suspiciously. "I think we should head back."

"You're no fun," TK pouted. 

"It's my job to make sure you don't get yourself killed while we're out of state."

"I'm not going to die."

"Your dad explicitly asked me to keep you out of the hospital while we're here. I don’t think anyone on this Earth trusts you enough to not die." 

"Rude. I'm going to take offense to that." 

Carlos rolled his eyes. He was too far away for TK to see the motion but TK saw the way Carlos' head rolled on his shoulders like it did every time he rolled his eyes at TK. It was one of the many little features of Carlos' existence that TK had committed to memory. "It's still true."

"When we get back to Texas, consider yourself officially dumped."

"Why not now?"

"Need a date to the engagement party, idiot. I'm not going by myself, that's just sad," TK emphasised, acting as if the statement were common sense.

Regardless of TK's teasing, Carlos continued to walk further out onto the lake. Each step was very slow and purposeful, Carlos not lifting his previous step until he was certain he wasn't about to fall.

"We should head back before your ability to be a danger magnet gets you hurt." 

"Carlos, sweetie, we're having fun."

"I'm not!" Carlos objected with all the emotion of someone who definitely wasn’t a fan of winter in the North. "What if the ice cracks?" 

"You're just freaking out, Texas. I used to do this all the time as a delinquent teen, never once did anyone even come close to falling in."

"Are you sure? I think I felt it bend."

"Stop being so melodramatic, Carlos. You're not going to die."

The ice shifted so slightly under TK’s foot. He felt it before he heard it. But Carlos looked up, his expression flooded with fear as the crack hit the air. It was loud, perhaps even more so because of what it meant.

It sounded like a whip slicing through both TK and Carlos’ aloof attitudes. 

Standing in the middle of a frozen lake wasn’t fun anymore, it was terrifying. One misstep and either of them could plummet. 

TK took a breath to settle his nerves. “Okay, let’s each slowly step away from each other. Distribute the weight.” 

Carlos looked reluctant as his eyes scanned TK. They were only a few metres apart, too far for Carlos to grab him if either of them fell. With a confident nod from TK, Carlos took a few precarious steps back. His frame was still tense, taut like a bowstring, ready to spring into action if need be. 

With a few steps back of his own, careful to make sure the ice stayed steady, TK smiled at Carlos in an attempt to ease the tension.

In a split second, there was nothing under his right foot.

TK wasn’t sure what kind of noise escaped his mouth but it was definitely one he hadn’t considered himself capable of making. Yanking his foot out of the hole in the ice, he met Carlos’ eyes as he stood there, perched like a flamingo. 

If he wasn’t concerned before, he definitely was now. Cracks sprinted from beneath his foot, surrounding him in a web of fractures. 

“Don’t panic,” Carlos called, his hand reaching towards TK, gloved palm facing him. 

Carlos was too far away and so was the edge of the lake.

The ice gave way. 

The first thing TK registered was the chill of the water as it enveloped him. He suddenly felt like the multiple layers Carlos made sure he was wearing before they left the cabin had been stripped from him as the cold stuck to his bones. It was an all-consuming sensation.

The water pushed its way into his lungs regardless of how much TK struggled to retain his breath. Bubbles filtered from his lips and he watched the fractured light whisking around him. The water burned his eyes but the pain paled in comparison to the fire in his chest. He’d been too caught off guard by the fall, he hadn’t thought to hold his breath. So a lungful of dirty lake water flooded down his airway as he tried to take a breath. 

He knew he needed to try and swim up, but his limbs were so heavy, the sodden layers weighing him down. 

Stay calm, kick up. 

Even without the added weight making it harder to swim, TK could no longer figure out which direction he had come from. 

The surface of the water was so far out of reach, TK couldn’t make it if he tried. Pressure continued to build around his body, numbness spreading to his extremities as the edges of his vision grew hazy.

So this was how it would end. A mouthful of filthy water and Carlos standing on the ice above him.

Carlos.

Carlos who always worried about him. Carlos who hadn’t even wanted to stand on the lake. Who wanted to go back. Was he panicking? Guilt seized TK’s chest, or it was the absence of air in his lungs, he couldn’t really tell. It was supposed to be a nice getaway for the two of them -- and TK was drowning.

Had he fallen in too? 

Or did the ice hold his weight? 

The chill of the water was a comforting warm presence now, cradling TK as he tried to fight its press off and instead of fear or regret for his slipping grip on consciousness, TK was calm. 

Relieved.

❄️

Water droplets from TK’s hair dropped onto the black screen of TK’s phone as he repeatedly pressed the power button. The display didn’t light up the screen, much to his dismay. He hadn’t had high hopes for the likelihood of the device surviving the ordeal, but it was frustrating nonetheless, so he glared at the phone to make himself feel better.

“It’s not going to work, it is surprising that it’s not at the bottom of that lake so don’t have high expectations. I’m sure there’s an old one lying around at home that you can use until you get a new one,” Carlos chimed from the doorway. He had shed his sodden clothes in exchange for a cream sweater that screamed “soft”. TK melted at the sight.

“How am I going to take nice pictures of you in your suit tomorrow if my phone is dead?”

“Use mine.” 

Carlos’ usually well kempt curls were sticking up in every direction since he towelled off his head. They were both soaked to the bone but where Carlos was busying himself with getting TK out of his wet clothes and replacing them with a thick hoodie, TK was exhausted. 

Keeping his eyes open was a chore, especially wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fireplace as Carlos ran a towel over his hair. It was domestic if you ignored the fact that they’d both almost died not even an hour ago.

Owen was never going to let them go anywhere ever again.

“You’re not going to tell anyone about this right?” TK hoped his puppy eyes were convincing enough; he didn’t need everyone back home freaking out. He already had Carlos literally dive into a frozen lake to pull him out.

“TK, you almost died.”

“I’m fine!” TK huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Carlos rolled his eyes. “You could be eviscerated and you would still insist that you’re okay. We’re still going to the hospital once you've changed.”

“We don’t need to. I’m fine, I swear.”

“TK, you were under the water for a long time. I’d just feel a lot better if you got checked out by a doctor. Your lips are still blue.”

There was a hint of desperation in Carlos’ eyes, a fear he wasn’t going to give a voice to, but one that TK could see.

“Okay.”

❄️

TK’s tired eyes lazily followed Carlos as he ducked behind the curtain, phone in hand. He still had a hand on the edge of the fabris and TK could see his silhouette against its surface. 

As much as Carlos feigned nonchalance, TK picked up on the officer’s nervous energy. Near-death experiences are bound to shake anyone, even the most stoic and level-headed of people. Not that Carlos would admit it.

“Hey, Chica.”

TK could only imagine the grilling Carlos was getting. Michelle being very soft and caring but still demanding to know all the specifics. If his father was anywhere nearby he’d be vibrating with worry and probably trying to take the phone out of her hand. 

“Yeah, he’s doing much better. They got him on some warm fluids and I think he’s on his fifth cup of hot chocolate.”

Peering at the bottom of his paper cup, TK eyed the residual chocolate powder collecting in the corners. It had been quite a few cups. But the doc recommended warm beverages and the hospital hot chocolates were surprisingly drinkable, and even came with gooey, melting marshmallows.

He was going to play the hypothermia card for at least the next two days.

“Was that Captain Strand? Tell him that I’ve got it handled. He doesn’t need to fly up here, TK will probably be discharged in the next few hours.”

Carlos peeked his head back through the curtain, smiling lightly at TK who, in response, extended an arm from his blanket mound and shook his empty cup at Carlos. 

“You don’t need another one,” Carlos scolded. “You’re going to pee for an hour.” He paused for a moment. “‘Chelle says hi and to feel better soon.”

“Michelle is so nice to me. Why am I dating you? You’re so mean. If Michelle was my girlfriend she would get me another hot chocolate. But here you are, the supposed love of my life, denying your poor boyfriend his last dying wish.”

Chuckling, Carlos sat down on the edge of the bed. “She says you’re too much drama.”

“Rude,” TK huffed.

“It’s okay, I love you anyway.”

“As you should, I’m a wonder to be around.”

“You are,” Carlos amended, “but next time we go anywhere, it will be warm and there will be no bodies of water.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I don’t like the cold.”

“That’s fair.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title From: First Reactions After Falling Through the Ice - La Dispute  
> [tumblr](https://sunsetcxrve.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this!!


End file.
